Why is the Philippines so Backward?

Think the Philippines is Backward? Test that Belief.

For the past 70 years, people from Western countries have decried the conundrum presented by the blatantly negative characteristics observed in Filipino governments—on the one hand, in conflict with how the average mamamayan remain so upbeat about their lives in the face of such adversity—on the other. A critical investigation of little-known, real-world factors into what we think we believe are the underlying reasons behind this glaring dichotomy has resulted in some surprising revelations.

The consternation that exists in the perceptions of modern Filipino culture from the standpoint of Westerners is striking. Americans and Europeans find it difficult to understand why Filipino voters insist on re-electing the same elites who have purposely doomed them to generational, endemic poverty. Yanks and Brits also simply can’t fathom how those very same voters fervently believe their politicians will “eventually” lift them out of their doldrums through the implementation of measures that are only mentioned during campaigns but never brought to fruition afterward.

It is painful to witness how, when the "masa" is once again sent home disappointed, instead of pitchforks, torches, and vuvuzelas blaring in the streets calling for public hangings of mayors and governors, the common refrain is a sighing, "bahala na, tayo ng kawawa, at least kasama natin ang isa’t isa"… and it’s time to fire up the karaoke machine… until the next "blessing" envelopes arrive two years later.

In numerous surveys and scientific studies conducted over the past 25 years, the vast majority (in many regions, over 90%) of average Filipinos state a strong desire to leave the country and live/work in the West (not China or the Middle East). On the opposite side of the spectrum, less than 1% of Westerners express a wish to live in the Philippines. However, over 90% of Filipino immigrants to Western countries say they one day want to retire back home, where the elderly are revered, and house help is cheap.

During the course of the queries given to middle-class and below Filipinos, when asked "what is it about life in the Philippines that makes you want to live abroad?" the answers are (1) to escape corruption and (2) to have the opportunity to earn a living wage. In contrast, wealthy Filipinos quite firmly submit that they enjoy traveling out of the country but would never, ever consider actually living anywhere but in the Philippines, where they will always be superstars.

Research has been conducted annually by most Western embassies throughout Southeast Asia on migration trends over the same period, with the results showing notable divergence from the Philippines. Vietnam went from 75% wishing to emigrate in 1992 down to 35% in 2015; Thailand dropped from 72% down to 21%; South Korea descended from 60% to 10%. Only in the Philippines has the percentage of people aiming to leave their country remained consistently above 90%.

Interestingly, whereas sociologists in America and the UK interpret these figures as an indictment on the governmental system in place in Manila, Filipinos—at all levels of society—hardly raise an eyebrow when presented with the same data. They universally do not feel as if wanting to leave the land of their birth is a negative thing, rather a matter of pragmatism rooted in their culture.

The key differentiating factor determining the broad disparity between the Philippines and her ASEAN neighbors turns out, not surprisingly, to be the Filipino Diaspora. Otherwise referred to as OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) and their émigré brethren, commonly known as "Balikbayan" (those who return home), the total figure comprises around 17% of the aggregate population, far beyond all of the other Asian bloc member nations combined.

In 1975, there were less than 1 million Filipinos living overseas. That number has increased to around 18 million today, all of whom send money back to their families in the form of "remittances" that constitute a respectable portion of GDP. But beyond being the stimulus driving the condo-building, traffic-causing booms in Manila and Cebu, OFW remittances are most importantly responsible for the two things that invariably portend dark clouds over developing countries with finite living spaces: overpopulation and complacency due to lack of competition for food in the short term.

Forty years ago, the Philippines held 30 million souls. After only two generations, the number has risen to around 110 million, nearly quadrupling in volume. At that time, what the UN today terms "food security" was at a moderate to average level in Philippine cities but far lower in the provinces. Death from starvation was still a real threat in 1977 under martial law, which sought to crack down on communist insurgencies in the countryside, whose members were predominantly poor farmers.

In an effort to stem NPA influence and bolster his own popularity, Marcos formed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in 1982, believing—according to his advisors—that more Filipinos abroad sending more money home would stimulate the economy. The effort took off in a serious way during the Aquino and Ramos administrations, with the latter even proclaiming OFWs the "new heroes of the Philippines."

Even though official government estimates have remittances now at 8–9% of GDP, most feel the real impact is much, much greater, being directly responsible for the explosion of shopping malls, fast-food chains, and an obesity epidemic in poor children, something unthinkable just 20 years ago.

Once the facts are known, and adult minds are willing to digest the data, we find ourselves presented with the dilemma of conceding that which we thought was "right" or "proper" in the manner we had always perceived the world to be isn’t necessarily how it is, at all. In any event, change—whatever that entails—will not occur in the Philippines until the mamamayan themselves, from Ilocanos down to the Tausug, each and every one of them, throw off their tribal robes and develop a national identity as Filipinos. Until that happens, they will continue along in their "blissful chaos," where everything seems to work out at the end of each day. And Americans and Europeans will never understand why, when they have so much, they continue to be so miserable, while Filipinos, who have so little, are so much happier.